Guns of grapes

By Ashleigh Fielding | posted on March 1, 2019

THREE Denmark and Mount Barker wine producers have been named in the top eight of WA finalists in the national Young Gun of Wine awards.

Matt Eastwell and Danni Paviour-Smith from Freehand Natural Wine and Kim Tyrer from Galafrey Wines are now in the running against 48 other finalists from across the country to win the title of Young Gun Winemaker.

Ms Tyrer entered her 2018 Muller Thurgau and 2018 Whole Bunch Shiraz and said she felt honoured to make the top 50 for the second year in a row.

“Because I’m self-taught and stepped into my dad’s shoes when he died, I often feel like I’m 10 years behind everyone else,” she told The Weekender.

“So, it’s great to be recognised.

“I started doing Young Gun to learn more and be better, and be innovative and fun.

“I’m learning and pushing myself with this competition.”

Ms Tyrer described her muller thurgau as “light, fruity and textural” and her shiraz as “very aromatic and clean”.

She said she took pride in focusing on the concept of a wine and following through with it, as well as questioning techniques and challenging the status quo.

“No one else grows it or – without sounding like I’m big-noting myself – grows it as well as we do,” she said about her muller thurgau.

“It’s incredibly versatile and suits our climate.

“With the whole bunch shiraz, there’s not a lot of it out there, and it can sometimes be too stalky or green.

“We’ve managed to move away from that green stalkiness.”

Young Gun of Wine founder Rory Kent said he was “really enthusiastic” about seeing more women occupying winemaker roles and was pleased with the products coming out of the Great Southern.

“Somewhere like the Great Southern…it’s so far away and could be considered the most remote wine region in Australia,” he said.

“It’s a really long way away from capital cities so it’s wonderful to see such creativity emanating from there.

“The Great Southern is blessed climatically and makes for a fantastic place to grow grapes.”

The final 12 of the competition will be announced in late April, when the public can vote via tasting events in Sydney and Melbourne for the People’s Choice award.

The winners will be announced at an invitation- only trophy presentation in Adelaide in June.